I'm afraid that you may have missed the point of both my chapter and this rejoinder. I am an Assyriologist; I study the languages and cultures of ancient Iraq. The point of my academic endeavors in the ancient Near East is not to call attention to what we would consider to be immoral actions in ancient cultures in an attempt to condemn their behaviors. Rather, I am addressing divine commands of violence and genocide in the Hebrew Bible because of the all-too-common use of biblical texts by Evangelicals in establishing and supporting their own moral system (see John Collins' book on biblical values for a good discussion of this). When problematic passages that concern things like rape, slavery, violence, and genocide are brought to their attention, this poses a difficulty for their interpretive framework. Thus, they very often downplay the severity of the immoral behavior (again, from our modern vantage point), or simply deny that said behavior took place. This allows them to maintain their theological convictions and to utilize these biblical texts to dictate their ethical systems (and often attempt to impose them on others). This is a misuse of ancient texts. In short, I am not critiquing the biblical texts or those who composed them for their violent content, any more than I am critiquing Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions for their violent content. Instead, I am addressing the apologetic attempt to downplay the severity or reality of said violence that is done in order to maintain certain theological positions.
Hi David,
I'm afraid that you may have missed the point of both my chapter and this rejoinder. I am an Assyriologist; I study the languages and cultures of ancient Iraq. The point of my academic endeavors in the ancient Near East is not to call attention to what we would consider to be immoral actions in ancient cultures in an attempt to condemn their behaviors. Rather, I am addressing divine commands of violence and genocide in the Hebrew Bible because of the all-too-common use of biblical texts by Evangelicals in establishing and supporting their own moral system (see John Collins' book on biblical values for a good discussion of this). When problematic passages that concern things like rape, slavery, violence, and genocide are brought to their attention, this poses a difficulty for their interpretive framework. Thus, they very often downplay the severity of the immoral behavior (again, from our modern vantage point), or simply deny that said behavior took place. This allows them to maintain their theological convictions and to utilize these biblical texts to dictate their ethical systems (and often attempt to impose them on others). This is a misuse of ancient texts. In short, I am not critiquing the biblical texts or those who composed them for their violent content, any more than I am critiquing Neo-Assyrian royal inscriptions for their violent content. Instead, I am addressing the apologetic attempt to downplay the severity or reality of said violence that is done in order to maintain certain theological positions.
Best,
Joshua